Reviews

Islands of Abandonment: Nature Rebounding in the Post-Human Landscape by Cal Flyn

charl149's review against another edition

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challenging dark hopeful informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

5.0

eveattwood's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful informative reflective slow-paced

4.0

ljeffbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

4.5

As someone with an environmental sciences degree, this was fascinating. Incredible narrative storytelling, made me stop and think at many points. The only thing I would add is I wish there more pictures!

melbell016's review against another edition

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hopeful informative reflective slow-paced

5.0

I loved that each chapter is a case study in a different place. And it’s interesting that he has some arguments, but the author really wants you to draw your own conclusions. The imagery is also incredibly vivid. Super well done. 

kazzle_69's review against another edition

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challenging hopeful informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

5.0

tomstbr's review against another edition

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4.0

A very thought-provoking book. The question it asks is what happens when humans leave after they have destroyed an environment. Cal has investigated a number of places around the world and tried to eke out the consequences from each, good and bad. I got a lot out of some of the philosophising, and the ways in which our Earth is able to rebound is truly amazing to think about.

_fictionalreality's review against another edition

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informative reflective medium-paced

3.0

gj377's review against another edition

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4.0

A really enjoyable and well-written book about what happens to the places people leave behind.

Cal Flyn travels to several different post-human landscapes - places that have been abandoned by people, whether through destructions man-made (nuclear disaster), or natural (volcanic), or by the end of a booming industry (mining in Scotland, manufacturing in Detroit). Here, she details the ways in which nature, the wild, are reclaiming these spaces, how they are trying to recover from the damage that's been wrought, mostly by human hands whether directly or indirectly.

It's a strangely optimistic book, despite the bleakness of many of the places depicted, but it hammers home that human-induced climate destructions is here, and it's real. These examples are all over the globe, and they're only going to get worse.

A book that will leave you thinking, and one that has only served to further my fascination with Chernobyl (see also Serhii Plokhy's book).

aqrio's review against another edition

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challenging hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

bluesea's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0